Welcome to the 2009 season!

This report now resumes being updated
twice a week through autumn,
instead of once a week in winter.

<b>Staten Island</b>

New York’s winter flounder season opens Wednesday, and <b>Outcast Charters</b> will get in the waters Friday, ready to go for the flatties, Capt. Rob said. A friend socked five keepers on Saturday in the back of bay in 12 feet on the Jersey side. Waters were 43 degrees—cold—but only a little warming should get the fish active. Blackfishing will also be available on the boat in April. In May the vessel’s anglers will hunt striped bass and sea bass. Smaller, resident stripers can be mixed with flounder catches early in the season, but bigger stripers should migrate to the bay by May, chasing schools of bunker to the waters. Then charters will swim livelined bunker or fish chunks of the baitfish for big bass. Outcast was able to cut charter rates drastically, because last year’s skyrocketed fuel prices disappeared. If fuel rates go back up, charter prices will have to be adjusted, but book now and lock in the current prices. Time’s ticking out: Weekend charters booked by April 1 will get a discount. Open-boat trips will sail with Outcast every Wednesday, because anglers kept requesting the trips, and space must be reserved. Special trips for parents with kids will also be available, featuring a lower rate for kids. Birthday trips for kids are also on tap. Check out Outcast’s Web site for rates and details.

A few winter flounder bit, no great shakes, for anglers from New Jersey, where the flattie season opened last week, and New York’s season opens Wednesday, and a trip will leave port for the fish that day, said Capt. Anthony from <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>. He expects the blackbacks to be caught through the first week of April. Heads up: Barbara Anne will reimburse anglers for bridge tolls with a receipt. A large slate of open-boat trips always sail for the bottom huggers, and many dates in April are already full. Book for May before it’s too late, and check available dates on the Captain’s Log on Barbara Anne’s Web site. Charters are also available for the fish, and anglers aboard slam-dunked flounder last year. Combo flounder/blackfish trips might also sail in April. Striped bass fishing will be next on the boat, with trips for the big ones from May to July. Last year’s catches were phenomenal, he said, and 40-pounders were sometimes clobbered on the vessel. Open trips will run daily for the linesiders around twilight, and reservations are required. Charters will chase the bass during the rest of the day.  In summer fluke fishing will begin, and bluefishing will be under way from summer to fall. More blackfishing also gets going in fall. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? No problem. Call Anthony, and he can usually pair you up with other anglers to create a full charter.

<b>Bayonne</b>

A friend and three anglers boated a keeper, 28-inch striped bass and released about 10 shorts from 18 to 23 inches near the Verrazano Bridge on Friday, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. They fished bloodworms, and locals who dunked the worms from bulkheads at Bayonne and nearby might’ve also caught short stripers. Charters with True World might begin next week for the season, sailing first for winter flounder. Akira heard about no flounder catches yet. The store is open about 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will be open longer hours when fishing picks up.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

Winter flounder fishing was slow in cold waters, but striped bass were cranked up along the bay shore, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b>. He heard rumors that bunker sometimes began to arrive. The boat will splash on April 10, when Evening Tide will begin flounder fishing. The vessel’s first flatties of the season are often found along the warm shallows of the bay, minutes from the dock. Striper charters will begin when larger, migrating linesiders move in, chasing bunker. Anglers aboard often liveline the menhaden to catch the linesiders, a specialty on the boat. The anglers sometimes join the crew at netting the baitfish for extra fun. When bluefish that love bunker arrive, getting the bait past the blues can be difficult. Then the anglers fish clams that blues avoid but stripers gobble up. Evening Tide will fish seven days a week, both on charters and open-boat trips, and grab dates before they’re gone.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Most of the <b>Atlantic Star</b>’s twice-daily winter flounder trips fished, and Friday’s catch in 60-degree weather was probably best, but the angling wasn’t good through the week, was poor, probably because of cold waters, Capt. Tom said. A few keepers were boxed that day. The sinkers came up cold, and the weather--like cold days, lots of winds and the weekend’s rains--was yet to give anglers a break this season, for the most part.  Last year’s catches were probably a little better at this time, a few more keepers. The boat since last week fished mostly on the Shrewsbury River. But Sunday morning’s trip fished in the bay off the Navy Pier a moment, but that area “wasn’t ready yet,” Tom said. A few skates were landed there, and the anglers reported a couple of missed bites that seemed not to be skates. But Tom’s “not counting the river out yet,” he said, although when the best floundering reaches the bay, waters off the Navy Pier will probably give up the best bites on the boat at first. Tom will stick with the fishing, even sailing when only a small group of anglers shows up, “just to keep it going,” he said.  The Atlantic Star is sailing for winter flounder on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

<b>Highlands</b>

Striped bass, including big ones to 19 to 21 pounds, were banked along the shore in the back of the bay, like at Cliffwood Beach, said Al from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Anglers soaked either sandworms or clams for bait, and nighttimes were especially productive,  particularly on outgoing tides. Tom Manion clammed a 15-pound 30-incher and a slew of shorts at Morgan Creek. Winter flounder fishing along the bay shore usually starts to take off a week after the flatties begin to get creamed farther south at Shark River. Catches were already made on the Shark, so the local flatties should start to wake up. Fresh and salted clams, sandworms, bloodworms and chum are stocked, and Crabby’s is open daily.

Cold waters kept the start of winter flounder season slow, supposedly not good at all, and even slowed down striped bass catches along the bay shore, compared with better fishing for the linesiders before, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. His trips will begin fishing the week after Easter, apparently good timing, because maybe the waters will warm, get the fish chewing. His anglers at first will flounder fish and will later chase down stripers. But they’ll also bottom fish for ling and such. Call to catch a discount on trips that fish from April 13 to 26.

<b>Belmar</b>

Shark River’s winter flounder fishing was a washout because of the weather, said Ben from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Today was extremely windy, and the bay was full of white caps, and winds hummed during the weekend, too. So fishing from the shop’s rental boats was difficult, but angling from the bulkheads was productive, also the best option. Bulkhead anglers clobbered the flatties Thursday and Friday. The fish were there, just a matter of conditions. The store is open daily, and all the winter flounder baits are stocked, and the rental boats are available.

<b>Brielle</b>

The last couple of days were mostly a blow out from the weather, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. But customer Bob Vafiadis fished for winter flounder on Barnegat Bay through the week from the Mantoloking Bridge to the Point Pleasant Canal. Last Monday he grabbed four keepers to an 18-inch 3-pounder. On Tuesday he and his son nabbed 12 keepers to 2 ½ pounds, and on Wednesday Bob fished by himself, collecting five keepers. Striped bass were tackled farther north, like at Cliffwood Beach on Raritan Bay and in the Navesink River, but catches lately seemed inconsistent. Closer to the shop, one boater read marks in the Point Pleasant Canal that looked like stripers. Dave’s fairly convinced that some stripers winter in the local area, and if so, water temps probably needed to bump up a couple of degrees to get them feeding. Dave has beached stripers in the local surf as early as the beginning of April, throwing artificials. The party boats that fished inshore put customers into ling. Warmer weather will pick up all local fishing. The offshore party boats got out for sea bass over the weekend, but Dave was yet to hear results. Sea bassing was somewhat slower than weeks ago, but that’s normal. More and more new gear for 2009 is arriving at the shop, and stop by to look around. The new self-service kit for Van Staal reels will be carried as soon as it’s available. The Reel Seat is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays until the hours are extended later in the season. The <a href=" http://www.ssfff.net/fundraiser.html" target="_blank">Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund</a>, spearheading the movement to prevent the summer flounder or fluke season from closing and from harsh bag limits that are essentially a closure, very much needs the continued support of anglers. See the fund’s Web site for details and how the fund is attempting to solve the crisis. The fund this past year hired a scientist who reportedly proved that the government’s surveys of the fluke population were flawed, preventing the catch quota from being decreased this year, reversing a trend. Dave previously said that helped prevent a closure of the fishery this year, but a closure is imminent if anglers fail to fund further science. Some good news: The scientist will start the next phase of the research. He’ll also attend the annual meeting in New England where the government reviews the stock assessment, like he did last year. Anglers might be largely unaware of the progress the SSFFF has made. Press coverage has dropped off since the economy forced newspapers to stop carrying some of the outdoor articles. If anglers fail to donate to the fund, the next steps in the science will not be done.

As most locals know, winter flounder fishing was off to a slow start on northern Barnegat Bay, and rains and cloudy weather didn’t help, but a couple of trips fished the waters Thursday and Saturday with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b>, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. The anglers aboard Thursday totaled seven keepers, and the high hook nabbed four. Two were drilled off the bat, a quick, initial bite that seemed common lately. Then nothing hit, and the boat moved, and one fish was picked up. The vessel returned to the original spot, and four more came up. Saturday’s trip, with Capt. Wayne at the helm, fished in rough weather, but the anglers worked the rail all day, ending up with five keepers, according to a written report from Wayne that Jerry included in the e-mail. “Just wasn’t our day,” Wayne said. The high hook knocked down two, and the waters were 45 to 46 degrees. The bay was clear, and the chum pots could be seen in 6- to 8-foot depths. Charters will focus on flounder, and open-boat trips will chase them daily when no charter is booked. Blackfishing will be added in April.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

The <b>Gambler</b> will break the inlet on its first fishing trip of the season 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday for cod, pollock and ling at the 25- to 50-mile wrecks, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. The fishing was good on the boat’s final trips last season in January, “and we hope to pick up where we left off,” he said.

“Extreme Bottom-Fishing Trips” to the offshore canyons will get the season under way for <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> next week, Capt. Fred said. With a bang, too! The open-boat trips annually fish the canyons for tilefish, and on the way home they mix in fishing at the inshore wrecks for sea bass, cod and pollock. An adventure! Andrea’s Toy is one of only several New Jersey charters that offers open-boat tilefishing, and might be the only that mixes in the wreck fishing. The 31-foot Contender cruises at 35 m.p.h., allowing time for the mixed bag. Almost all striped bass charters are booked in May through mid June, but May 4 through 6 is available.

Flounder trips will get the engine started for the season for <b>Reel Class Charters</b> on Saturday, Capt. Allen said. Trips will follow the migration of the flatties from northern Barnegat Bay through the Manasquan River through April. Once the fish reach the ocean, they disperse too much to focus on locally, no structure to attract them like a few other places in the ocean, such as the Cedars off Sandy Hook. Sometimes Reel Class does fish for them at the Cedars, but by then anglers on board usually concentrate on the migration of striped bass along the beach front. Allen did fish a little for stripers already in local waters with artificials, but waters were too cold, and only one was hooked and lost. 

<b>Toms River</b>

Anglers on the Toms River beat striped bass, pretty good fishing, around Island Heights, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. One angler this morning said he caught and released three that measured up to 24 inches that sucked down bloodworms. Bruce Silvani clobbered a 33-1/2-inch 10.12-pounder on  a bloodworm there. Stripers were also plugged along the Route 37 Bridge on Barnegat Bay at dawn and dusk, and Rapala X-Raps were most popular. Stripers also attacked plugs, small poppers and soft-plastic lures up and down Oyster Creek. Cold waters 42 degrees put a chill on winter flounder fishing at places like the Toms, but some were taken, and the high hook put the brakes on four from the dock at Island Heights. Flounder fishing in Barnegat Bay was decent, and the fish were big and fat. The angling was better from Wednesday to Friday and started to slow on Saturday. A couple of customers reported catches of 10 apiece from the bay, and the area around the 40 marker was best. Some sizeable flatties were checked in, including Gus Nabel’s 3.36-pounder lifted in near the 40 and Robert Caruso’s 2.26-pounder decked in the northern bay near the Mantoloking Bridge. Dennis had told Robert Caruso some places to fish and told him the shop would buy his bait back if he caught nothing, but he caught. Customers sometimes fished the surf, including a couple who bought clams for bait this morning, and rumors were heard about a few short stripers beached, but nobody actually reported catches. The first confirmed stripers angled from the suds during some years go down in the first week of April.

<b>Seaside</b>

The season’s first keeper striped bass was weighed in from the surf! said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. Or at least it’s assumed it came from the surf, because the site never specifically said. But Dominic Bottigliero checked in the 10.4-pound 31-incher on Saturday, and the fish Hoovered up a Grumpy’s clam. Not much else was available to report, and crowds continued to be light on the beaches, and the weather didn’t help, but it’s a start. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

The season got under way with a winter flounder trip Friday on Barnegat Bay for <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> with Joe Franke and Jay Simmons aboard, Capt. Steve said in an e-mail. They picked away at 14- to 16-inchers, bagging six keepers, missing a few other flatbacks, keeping the anglers on their toes, interested in the fishing through the trip.  Most of the fish seemed spread out between the BB and BI markers, and “lots of chum, bloodworms and patience seemed the ticket,” Steve said. The fishing wasn’t great, but the day’s 60-degree weather was, and it was fantastic to get back in action with the anglers, regulars on the boat, sharing “laughs, good times and reminiscing about trips past and future,” Steve said.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

It’s on: An angler e-mailed the shop late Sunday, saying he whaled 11 striped bass, including two keepers 29 and 32 inches, all released, at Graveling Point, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. The angler saw other anglers land a keeper and four or five shorts, and few were fishing that late in the day. Another angler Sunday morning said he bailed steady striper catches to one that was a half-inch short at the point early in the day, the first news heard about steady catches there this season. Low tide was at 5 a.m., and bright, silver stripers, fish from the ocean, were beached on incoming. The angler who e-mailed late in the day caught the fish on outgoing, so both tides worked. Cold and damp weather kept anglers scarce on Saturday, although one from the point reported sticking three shorts on a plug, after tackling none on worms and clams. A flurry of activity took place Friday evening on incoming, a school of bass fresh from the ocean giving up some catches. The first keeper of the season from the local area was nailed from shore at Pebble Beach on Wednesday evening, March 25, one day earlier than the previous year. This year’s first few shorts were banked on March 22, the same day as the previous year, and during both years, no more stripers were reported caught from the area until the first keepers, almost like clockwork. Dan Williamson weighed in the keeper this year, a 7-pound 28-3/8-incher, on Thursday morning, winning the shop’s annual prize of a $100 gift certificate for the first checked in. Bloodworms are the go-to bait at Graveling Point and Pebble Beach, early season hot spots. But clams are a back-up bait that also works. Scott’s usually stocks both and also live grass shrimp, minnows and nightcrawlers, and the shop’s Web site gives the current status of the bait selection. Also check out the wealth of info on the shop’s <a href=" http://www.scottsbt.com/fishing/stripers/springrun.htm
" target="_blank">Graveling Point striped bass run Web page</a>.  

<b>Atlantic City</b>

A few striped bass, not many keepers, were tackled in the surf in front of the T-jetty and in the back bay near Harrah’s on bloodworms and clams, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Tog occasionally crunched green crabs off the Flagship jetty, and winter flounder sometimes bit bloodworms and clams in the bay toward the windmills. The shop is back in action for the season, open every day, and all the baits are stocked.

<b>Longport</b>

Trips on the <b>Stray Cat</b> tried for tog on the ocean and winter flounder on the bay, but both were no good, because waters were cold, Capt. Mike said. Cold weather, winds and rains continued, “but when it kicks, it’ll kick,” he said, and that could happen any time. He’ll look for flounder on the bay on the boat’s daily, open-boat trips until mid April, until the trips exclusively go after tog at that point. But offshore outings for sea bass are slated to be mixed in. Open trips for sea bass are sold out this Saturday and on April 10 and 18. Space is available on another on Easter Monday, April 13. Charters for mako sharks and inshore bluefin tuna are already being booked for May and June. Call to reserve preferred dates before they’re gone. Also call to reserve all open-boat trips.  

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson's Tackle</b> kept trying for the season’s first striped bass on the bay, tossing Clouser flies and soft-plastic lures, but winds howled, rains fell and mostly cool weather remained, conditions yet to be right, he said. The waters warmed to 50 degrees, though. A friend confirmed that stripers were boxed on Delaware Bay, seeing some of the bagged fish at the dock. Because striper fishing on the bay at Sea Isle wasn’t ready to pop, Joe spent an afternoon fly-rodding 1- to 1-1/2-pound largemouth bass on a friend’s private pond with small, black, deer-hair wooly buggers fished along the bottom. The bass were active, didn’t require a slow retrieve.

<b>Cape May</b>

 Striped bass got reeled in on a trip that a friend took on Delaware Bay toward Reeds Beach on Saturday, and Capt. Joe from <b>Schmedley Charters</b> saw the five keepers the anglers bagged, Joe said. The keepers, 28- to 30-inchers, were among 25 of the fish, the rest of them shorts, that were hooked on the trip, mostly on clams. But some were caught on bunker that the anglers snagged from the bay. Some of the baitfish were around, and so were herring. Boaters who fished the bay in the relatively shallow waters toward the river mouths seemed to score decent catches of the linesiders. Schmedley’s two boats, a 37-foot Topaz and a 19-foot center console, are ready to fish. Personalized trips for one or two anglers on the center console are new this year for Schmedley, and anglers currently can consider such trips on the boat for the bass near Reeds Beach, although the larger vessel is also available. The 19-footer will also be available through the season for back-bay fishing for stripers, small blues, flounder, weakfish and tog. Schmedley will sail for striped bass on Delaware Bay at first this season, and drumfish charters on the bay should begin around the beginning of May.

The boat should be splashed for the season on April 15, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>, and charters will kick off with striped bass fishing on Delaware Bay. He heard a few third-hand reports about catches made, and the fishing should get going, because waters should be warming. Drum charters will begin on the bay in May, and last year’s drum season was one of the better ones. Shark trips will launch in June, and O-Beth always aims to do lots of sharking when the fishing peaks that month.   

Delaware Bay boaters already banged away at striped bass, sometimes limiting out, other times creeling five or eight keepers,  releasing a mess of shorts to boot, on clams in the shallow flats close to shore, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b>. He expects to be ready to sail on open-boat trips and 6-, 8-, 10- or 12-hour charters starting Saturday, and that day is available. Anglers stuck 30 to 70 fish per trip, sometimes whacking up to 20 keepers. The size of the fish was also quality for this time of year, not just resident stripers, but already migrators making their way to the Delaware River to spawn.  That was apparent because of sea lice on their flesh, showing they came from the ocean.  Drumfish charters should begin on the bay around the full moon on May 8, their traditional arrival. But drum can be mixed in on striper trips starting around the new moon toward the end of April.

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